Posted by John Thompson
Jon Nass is the Chief Executive Officer of the Maine Port Authority (MPA).   Prior to joining the MPA, Jon was Deputy Commissioner at the Maine Department of Transportation.
 
Jon worked as a senior policy advisor in the State of Maine Governor’s Office, collaborating with stakeholders on issues including transportation, education, emergency management, tax policy, and general government services. Jon served for seven years in the U.S. Congress, most recently as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security, where he worked on restructuring the national intelligence apparatus and reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He previously advised U.S. Senator Susan Collins on transportation, natural resources, and international trade matters. 
 
In 2008, Jon deployed to Iraq to serve on a U.S. Department of State Provincial Reconstruction Team as a field officer embedded in a U.S. Army infantry battalion operating in the city of Baqubah. While in Iraq, Jon also served as a rule of law advisor working with the Iraqi judiciary and the Diyala provincial council before returning to Maine in 2010.

Jon received his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America, where he was a member of the Law Review. He majored in history and government at St. Lawrence University.
 
He will be speaking about the benefits to Maine of international trade - specifically ocean-based trade through our International Marine Terminal here in Portland.